A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I had a good tearjerking story to share. I saved it for this week. Please indulge me!
As discussed, my wife was diagnosed with some tumors in her liver about three weeks ago. Her primary care physician was certain that it was cancer and we began preparing ourselves for the long struggle ahead. We left the doctor’s office in a sort of daze. Varying between inappropriate dark humor (our family specialty) and choking back tears.
Mrs Thrill desperately needed consolation and even though I was doing my best, I was within a hair of utterly losing my shit. Unfortunately, her parents were visiting Hawaii for the weekend and she couldn’t bear to put them through a vacation and a long flight home with such news hanging over their heads. Instead, we decided to visit my mother and sister at their house.
It was a beautiful May day, in spite of the inner turmoil, so we drove to see them with the windows rolled down to find some comfort in the fresh air. We were quiet and somber. I wouldn’t even turn the radio on because I didn’t want to associate any song that might play with the memory of such a terrible hour.
Suddenly, my wife exclaimed, “AAAAAH, DAMN IT!” and started pulling back her skirt.
“What’s the matter?”, I asked. I was already worried enough about her!
“I just got…stung…by a bee! Oh, my God it hurts!”
We struggled to process this for a few seconds. And then something happened.
She started laughing. I started laughing too, because the situation was so completely absurd. How in the world does anyone get stung by a bee on the day she gets told by her doctor she probably has cancer? It was so outrageous, we couldn’t do anything but laugh all the way to my mother’s house. When we got there, we told them what happened and put some mustard on the bee sting.
Well, those of you who’ve known me a while may know that I’m the superstitious sort. I believe in omens. I think that God or whoever communicates to us through natural occurrences and the signs are always there, if you’re willing to open your eyes and look.
Mrs Thrill agrees with my attitude and she searched up “bees + omens” on the Web. As soon as she started to read, she gasped. As it turns out, bees are considered something of messengers for the Holy Spirit. They are always associated with positivity. Oh, yeah, bee venom kills cancer too!
In that moment, my wife experienced the most complete sense of comfort you can possibly imagine. She knew that everything was going to be okay.
“Really?”, you may ask. “A bee sting was good?” Yes. I will explain.
A subsequent biopsy confirmed that my wife doesn’t have cancer. However, during the course of the scans and tests she went through, the doctors found a node on her parathyroid that has probably been causing a number of health issues she’s had for years. Her upcoming surgery is going to resolve to them. This is good!
My interpretation is that the bee came at that moment to remind us that someone is looking out for us. We are never truly alone in this world, no matter what your beliefs are about angels or voodoo or anything else. It’s not only true in the cosmic sense. Bad times bring out the best in other people.
Even though my wife is experiencing and will experience some pain (as she did from the bee sting) there will also come healing. Good health and a better quality of life await her. That was the message we received, regardless of who sent it or the admittedly bizarre way it was given to us.
Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, what happens to us and those we love are awful things and maybe the reasons seemingly are too. You’ll probably never understand why either. It’s inexplicable. But no matter what happens, remember that nobody can take the small joys away from you or keep you from laughing at the ridiculous stuff that comes your way.
For this week, please share musical selections about anything related to bees, omens, and those small joys. And laugh about something today, will you? I’m sharing this as a rare example of me being uplifting and shit. Don’t let me down!
I am so glad that things are working out. Even on a dark day you and your wife could find humor . that shows a strong bond of love between you two.. im happy for ya!
Joy to the World……
Alright- Darius Rucker
Wagon Wheel- Darius ruscker
The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth
The Rolling Stones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBcFjNUzFJ0
James Brown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xEXmhQDS_k
U2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6WMzDOh1o
Bees? I got bees.
Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhjSzjoU7OQ
Bee Girl by Pearl Jam – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAodHvcpSw
Which is, of course, a reference to:
No Rain by Blind Melon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58
But is, of course, no relation to:
B Girls by Young And Restless – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD6hfzUbKtA
Lastly, and loosely, I had a few choices from Anthrax’s Attack Of The Killer B’s album and ultimately decided on:
Pipeline by Anthrax – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yhi50TKWM0
More Than A Feeling
Bees are literal givers of life and should be respected as such. For this and other reasons, I do not use pesticides in my garden. I have found that the natural balance of creepy crawlies does establish itself if given time. I just h ave to tolerate chomped out leaves on my roses and the occasional chewed blooms. White roses are the least able to hide damage, FWIW.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Nature Boy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6__wjJ6NI0c
Touching story WG. Glad things are working out for the family.
The first thing I thought of was a cartoon of a buzzard catching a bumble bee. This clip doesn’t exactly line up with my memory, but I think this is it (see 2:47 in).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDArauoo2uw&list=PL3HRMaQ07Sx2jmTL5eFUKfArFY8wCAfVf
I did a search on my music player, and this is the only song with “bee” in it.
Limblifter – Beard of Bees – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4tis6FvI8